


Career Change

by sanctum_c



Series: Clerith Month 2017 [15]
Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Career Change, F/M, Motorcycles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28721901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctum_c/pseuds/sanctum_c
Summary: Aeris embarks on a completely new career in deliveries.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Series: Clerith Month 2017 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009509
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	Career Change

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt 'Motorcycle'

Aeris inviting herself on Cloud's deliveries was an idle fancy. The first time anyway. A simple curiosity of what it was like to roar around on a motorbike, to drive so far, hand over a package, and then come back. Cloud took her request in his stride, put up no objections and asked no questions. Soon Aeris found herself clinging to his waist on the back of his bike while it roared across the landscape on his next job. He probably assumed that would be the end of her curiosity.

Not in the slightest. Aeris's announcement that she would accompany him on a second delivery surprised Cloud but he acquiesced. As he did on the third occasion. Then came the first of his overseas deliveries in a while and she was, of course, going with him for that. It was a chance to see a whole new land and new people. Shame that she saw so much of it as a blur.

But there was at least some opportunity for a better look at the new location. That longer distance delivery forced the pair to make a stop-over at an inn along the way. Aeris took the opportunity to explore the area during the twilight hours before bed and then again in the early morning light before timing forced them on their way again. Not long enough all things considered. She needed more and she was not going to stop now.

Moving from place to place like this helped curb a desire Aeris had never quite been able to articulate before. Her need to do something, to find something to occupy either her hands or her mind. That urge faded away when she zipped around the country with Cloud. Now she could articulate the feeling; a need to move, a need to explore. An unquenchable thirst for the new wherever she could find it.

Her accompanying Cloud soon became expected and second nature; still no objections or protests to her presence on his deliveries. He answered every question she asked without impatience; perhaps it was little beyond a way of keeping himself awake on longer trips. Perhaps he was happy to answer her and have her keep him company. In any case her curiosity never seemed to trouble him.

And so it went on until one, almost trivial, incident changed their dynamic forever; Cloud caught a cold. Nothing life-threatening; it was merely a common, every-day illness. But it still made Cloud's lungs wheeze and his head throb with pain. Cloud insisted he had a delivery to complete and needed to get moving; Aeris disagreed and confined him to bed. He objected; the delay of a day or more was simply unacceptable to the business.

Aeris insisted he stay, noting both his streaming nose and the unsteadiness of his movements when he managed to get standing. Cloud was in absolutely no kind of shape for a long ride with cold air blasting around him. But, he insisted, what about the delivery? Aeris's eventual solution was simple; she would make the delivery in his place and be back in time to heat up some soup for lunch. Cloud was reluctant, but she insisted - and eventually prevailed. He needed rest and warmth above all else. And had she not been on more than enough deliveries by now? Aeris knew full well where to go; the address was clear and easy to locate on a map.

Thanks to her previous bike rides with Cloud, Aeris already had a complete set of suitable protective gear. But despite all her assurances, being the only one on the bike; having control over the balance; steering; those were all a little odd at first. No one else with her and no Cloud to block the rushing wind as she rode the bike. The moment passed and she drove on alone; the bike responding to her movements without problem. Midgar faded into the distance behind her and, almost before she could blink, she arrived in Kalm. The customer looked at her with some confusion when she knocked on his door; he expected Cloud just like every other time. Aeris smiled and politely informed him that Strife Delivery Service was considering expansion and a second driver. She shot the man a smile, thanked him for his custom and headed for home.

Difficult to stop thinking about that spur of the moment comment. She broached the subject to Cloud when he was feeling better. With a second driver, they could handle more deliveries. Earn more money. Cloud did not take much persuading, though it was hard to not to feel a little guilty when she discovered the sheer cost of purchasing that second motorbike. Cloud merely shrugged and insisted they would make the money back soon enough. And it would all be ultimately worth it.

Strife Delivery Service’s two drivers went into business together. More loads to the same destination. Multiple destinations over the same time-frame. Sometimes they both roared along the roads together. Other times they parted outside Midgar with a 'see you soon' and raced off to the opposite sides of the world. And on occasion they were able to catch up with each other on the road, glad for a chance to find an inn and share a bed again. Separately and together, the two of them journeyed across the world for as long as they were able.


End file.
